Developing an Exercise and Diet Plan That Works For You
0Regardless of your starting point, developing an exercise and diet plan that work for you can improve your quality of life. Getting enough physical activity, such as aerobics and weight training, and eating a nutritionally diverse diet low in salt and saturated fat can help reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and some cancers.
The key to turning working out into a habit is being consistent. Even if you can’t fit in a full-on workout session every day, regular trips to the gym and other activities, like walking the dog or revving up household chores, add up over time.
It’s important to plan your workouts ahead of time. For example, placing your cardio on nonweight-training days can boost energy levels and keep you from overdoing it in the weight room. And scheduling your strength-training exercises to include all major muscle groups can improve overall fitness and prevent injuries.
It’s also a good idea to schedule your preworkout nutrition. Eating too soon can cause you to feel sluggish and too late risks having food in your stomach that sloshes around during exercise, which can lead to discomfort. The right timing can depend on your body size, gender, metabolism, gastric motility and the type of workout you do. For example, if you’re planning on doing heavy, endurance-type exercise such as running or biking, it’s best to eat a meal about three to four hours beforehand. A snack or light meal is fine if you’re planning on doing shorter, moderate-intensity exercise such as jogging or swimming. Kost och träningsschema